Rec: The Longest Road by izhilzha

It's my last rec of the week! I hope everyone enjoyed my selections, and don't forget to feed the authors if you found something you liked :D I realized the other day that this is my 31st rec for this comm, and with this rec I'll have highlighted 30 different amazing and talented authors (and I wasn't even trying for that diversity, it just happened! Teaspoon is pretty awesome). So for today I will leave you with a good old-fashioned Companions in Peril story for the newest TARDIS team:

Recc'ed because: It's a great POV story of capture and escape, in a truly alien environment. Amy has to confront not only slave-driving aliens, but her own inner feelings and fears about waiting for the Doctor, and wondering what kind of time he's keeping this time around. This is an intimate tale, that has action but also quieter moments to explore the relationship between Rory and Amy, and between Amy and the Doctor. Companions in New Who are very capable, but it's nice to find a story that doesn't treat them like Mary Sues (Marty Stus) or superheroes. I also love how the walls of their prison become such a visual and living part of the story.

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It's not that useful, being overlooked. She's tried escaping more times than she can count. Even finding outside walls is almost impossible. No windows or doors or airlocks or anything, anywhere. She's still not sure what sort of planet they're on, or if they're even on a planet, mucky dirt notwithstanding.

Everything's gone quiet; the rest of them have been rounded up into their sleeping cells for the night. She can't quite bring herself to look around; it's too comfortable here on the warm, living floor. She's asleep when a gentle hand touches her shoulder. “Amy.”

“Rory.” His fingers comb through her hair, her poor short stubble, brushing down to her shoulders, where the driver struck her. “Ow.”

“You all right? Is it just the one burn?”

She reaches back, pulls his hand forward and kisses it. “I'm fine, okay. Are you? No problems getting through the walls tonight?”

“Yeah. No. Fine.” His long body, leaner than ever, ribs standing out all over, presses warmly against her back, his arm folded over her, his nose against her neck.